Author's Note:
All individuals in this story are of legal age. This is a work of fiction, and does not reflect on anyone the author knows in person.
***
I never really intended for it to happen. Life has a way of putting people in circumstances they never see coming, and this was definitely one of those. To this day, I blame a hunting game I started playing. That's what got me interested in the sport. Pretty soon I was hiking in the woods, then it was going on guided hunts on reservations, and the next thing I knew, I was wearing a backpack and carrying my rifle in the rugged mountains of Canada, hunting Moose. That's where I met Sarah.
I first saw her as I pulled up in my beat up old Dodge to the main lodge on the reserve, a rustic wood and glass structure that had a perpetually smoking chimney. I smiled at her from across the lobby as I walked to the front desk to check in. After showing the attendant that all my paperwork and hunting license was in order, I stopped and poured myself a cup of courtesy coffee and went to admire the view.
"What brings a guy like you up here?" said a soft sensual voice behind me as I looked out over the majestic view out the back doors.
I turned and smiled, as the 5'3" woman I had smiled at looked up at me, her glasses giving her a sort of not-that-innocent look as she smiled back. I took in the sight of her, wearing a black tank top underneath a flannel shirt rolled up to her elbows, a worn leather backpack slung over one shoulder. She was definitely dressed for this sort of environment, unlike me, who was wearing a plain black t-shirt underneath a black leather jacket and jeans with holes on the knees that were not there by design but from hard work.
"Moose season. I've always wanted to try my hand at it, figured this would be an excellent place to start. Do you hunt?" I didn't see a gun on her, but that doesn't mean she didn't have her rifle back in her room.
She chuckled and said, "No, I come up here to walk and be a part of nature. The mountains and lakes are just so beautiful, like nowhere else in the world. I hope you get your trophy that you're after."
I watched as she walked away, puzzled by the encounter. Usually when someone hears that I'm going on a hunt, they want to know about some of my past experiences. Her glance over her shoulder however told me that I hadn't struck out. At least not yet. Putting the encounter behind me, I walked out to my truck and grabbed my gear and turned in for the evening. Before going into the woods, one of my guides taught me to literally go through every piece of equipment and check it. Even down to your boot laces, because when you're in back country, it doesn't take much going wrong to turn a recreational activity into a survival situation. After reassuring myself that everything was in working order, and that the tent had no holes, I packed it back up and placed it by the door and set an alarm for 5 the following morning and turned in for the night.
***
The following morning, I woke up early and got myself a cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs from the courtesy buffet. I kept an eye out for the intriguing redhead, but she was nowhere to be seen. After breakfast was finished, I shouldered my pack, and began my hike. There was a place about half way up the nearest mountain that looked promising from satellite photos, and that was where I planned to make my base camp.
The hike to the spot was uneventful, aside from amazing views of the reserve. I climbed the lookout tower nearby to get an idea of where I was at, and that's when I saw the woman-Sarah-again. This time, leaning over the rail, giving me an excellent view of her ass in her tight jeans. Not wanting to startle her too much, I cleared my throat, and came to stand next to her.
"Seems we're interested in the same area. Thinking of pitching tent over in that clearing there?" She asked, the first sign of her New Zealand accent coming through and making her all that more alluring.
"About 100 yards from the stream, yeah, right above that first little slope. You?"
"Somewhere else," was all I got, as she gave me an alluring smile and started down the stairs. "If you want to see something truly amazing, go 50 yards north of your campsite shortly before dusk."
I had no clue what that meant, but I'm not one to ignore advice coming from a beautiful woman, so I made a mental note, and continued surveying the surrounding area. I didn't see any moose, much to my disappointment, but I heard their vocalizations, which bolstered my spirits. I climbed down the stairs and reached my intended campsite at around noon, and went about gathering firewood and kindling, after checking the area for any tracks. While some worry about bears, I was more concerned about making sure there were no female moose tracks around. Nobody wants to be in the path of a bull during rutting, which had started at the end of September, and this was this first Saturday of October, opening day. I went about securing my food stuff in a bear resistant container 20' above ground and setting up my tent. I had also learned on a previous expedition some preventive measures to keep curious bears and other animals away from my perimeter and set about that as well. Granted, there's not a whole lot you can do if the animal is determined, but every little thing helps, or at least made me feel better about the situation.